Ain't No Party Like A Racist Party

Discontentment breeds hate. Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s was on the back of the Great Depression, and when you think back to what Hitler managed to start and contribute to our world from exploiting the economic situation, it was a little more than hate.

History repeats itself, and we still haven’t learnt our lesson. At the end of the 1970s, there were vast riots in Lewisham as the National Front took up Hitler’s bandwagon of fascism. Now in 2009, the demon of racism has reared its ugly head again in the form of Nick Griffin and the British National Party.

The BBC tried to raise its viewers, with a risky and high profile appearance of the British National Party leader, Nick Griffin, and it worked. I have always watched Question Time, usually as I am still awake and therefore had the television on whilst I fall asleep. The audience had Nick Griffin at their mercy and a brilliant opportunity to challenge him on his ideas and political policies. However, Nick Griffin came out pretty unscathed as despite the witty, ad-hominem comments and the YouTube ‘remix’ videos, the audience were not really able to fight Nick Griffin with logical arguments.

I was happy that the three major UK parties were able to take a united stand against the BNP. But I’m going to put the blame on them and the BBC for this botch job of standing up to the BNP. The BBC’s unsubtle choice of audience members (particularly the young Jewish boy with a skullcap!) and questions ruined the occasion. It was solely an attack on the BNP, which I am not complaining about but I wish that Nick Griffin was given more of an opportunity to explain himself instead of being heckled. I wanted to find out about the BNP ''policies'', and two very good questions were turned down by David Dimbleby, it seems like a deliberate set up to allow the angry ‘ethnics’ to shout and possibly exemplify the BNP’s stereotype of non-British people.

Similarly, the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats annoyed me. They had very good arguments, and as a Labour supporter, I did like what Jack Straw had to say. However I feel that these parties did evade some questions and they need to be straight with the public, if we are to ever get rid of the BNP. These immigration figures, misestimates and calculations need to be said as no matter how small the seed of doubt is, the BNP will pick up on it and exploit it.

I am not completely sceptical however, as this Question Time episode became a national talking point particularly on Facebook and amongst my school mates. If it is anyone who needs to watch out, it is the young people in this country who are more open to change, and a mobilisation of the youth taking a stand against racism in this country is extremely dangerous for the BNP.

Currently Listening To: Blame It On The Boogie - Jackson 5

Ticking Me Off #3

Usually, I would have some sort of background story for myself to ramble on about before launching into my blog, but not today. I am well and truly pissed off.

Royal Mail

I want my mail. Having just sent my university application, sometimes the universities send correspondence by post which is quicker than the rate that UCAS Track updates. Well not any more, thanks to the postal strike! The postal strike has been an ongoing crisis that has now accumulated in a mass of wildcat strikes. I am livid. University students are relying on letters from student finance, homeowners on bills, credit cards, chequebooks, and various receipts and refunds. Important things are in the post, I don’t think anyone is foolish enough to take Royal Mail’s job for granted, but I think they are.

Human beings don’t like change. This idea has been proven time and time again throughout the course of history. The management can’t handle the situation and are doing the best they can, but the postmen and women have to co-operate if Royal Mail are going to get anywhere. Royal Mail is losing customers at a rate of 10% a year and they have to modernise so that they can compete. In business speak, modernisation = job cuts. One thing, I think one has to learn from our evolving work climate and from the recession is that there is no such thing as job security. A job for life simply doesn’t exist anymore.

‘We used to work 9 hours a week and now we do 11!’ Oh, my heart bleeds; I probably have school days longer than that, sometimes! The Royal Mail has demolished 1st and 2nd delivery, and they now have fewer hours, but by some miracle I never seem to get post before 11 o’ clock, earliest. These postmen have been pictured in the betting shops, dumping mail or simply posting it back in the post-box for someone else to do it for them. I do not mean to tar all these workers with the same brush, but it is pretty annoying. The fact that they are striking in the midst of a recession is quite frankly ridiculous. 30,000 temporary jobs were up for grabs and 85,000 applied for the jobs; surely, this is not a job worth striking over? Making it hard for the temps to come in and do work, yet cause ‘as little disruption as possible’ is a joke.

What are the solutions to the problem? Lord Mandelson is claiming to be working closely with Royal Mail and it looked like they were coming close to an agreement on Wednesday evening. However, people are either calling for two things: PRIVATISE or LET THE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDISE IT. Privatisation will mean competition and therefore Royal Mail could become a viable business, but there is too much competition out there, Royal Mail could get absolutely slaughtered. If the business is subsidised by the government, the public will take on the huge pension deficit and Royal Mail does end up going belly up, then they could have a real problem on their hands. In China, their mail system is subsidised by the government and it is very efficient, it is more of a cultural thing, nobody would dare strike in China!

In the end, it’s all looking ominous for Royal Mail and it is evident that someone is going to swing for this. So whilst they’re being dismissed, they may as well take a detour to my house and deliver my fucking mail.

Currently Listening To: Million Dollar Bill - Whitney Houston

Free At Last?

A couple of weeks ago, Nigeria celebrated its independence on October 1st, and it has been a republic for 49 years now. As a Nigerian, through the blood of my father, I felt that it was important to do some sort of blog about it, almost like an economic outlook.

Upon reading the Bottom Billion, I reflected on what I had read. Reform is needed and quickly. Nigeria had a finance minister, a very knowledgeable woman whom had worked for the IMF, who was very quickly ousted, despite her major improvements and economic policy making. The Nigerian economy has been shaped by a reputation of political corruption like no other, greed, and fuelled by, well the obvious, oil.

Oil is has lured Nigeria into the trap that so many other countries have had to haul themselves out of, ‘The Natural Recourse Curse’. There are many anecdotes of kidnappings and mysterious disappearances in the Niger Delta region where oil is. My father likened the appearance of Shell in his hometown like the second coming of Jesus. ‘At one point, we believed that Shell was going to save us, the next, we wanted to kill Shell and they wanted to kill us.’ A wasteland ruled by rebels who patrol the area, and attack those who intrude, solely for the liquid beneath the ground. Oil turns people into barbarians – and makes people cruder and ugly than ever. Oil wars have plagued Nigeria, and its presence is almost holy and sacred, but in a warped, twisted way.

Nigeria has also had to contend with a civil war. War and the likelihood of war are both severely important factors for foreign investors, and can slow an economy drastically. (Paul Collier addressed this problem in his book). Nigeria must diversify and stop relying on the oil it has, (oil causes many problems). Nigeria can use its agriculture as another source of income but infrastructure must be improved so that exporting produce is not another problem.

Despite its misgivings, Nigeria has done pretty well in the recession in spite of the price of commodities falling, and most Nigerian banks have been able to raise funds in the midst of this recession. There is a joke that Nigerian banks have made a bigger loss over the past 30 years from pure corruption than this recession!

There is hope, however. Many skilled workers and professionals are returning from the UK and US, if only in drips and drabs, it is a promising sign. These people are hoping for better economic conditions and their return will only boost the economy as they build new business and are employed in important jobs. Nigeria is also labelled as one of the ‘Next 11’ in the emerging markets, alongside countries such as Egypt and Mexico and the BRIC countries. Nigeria is full of potential and promise.

A wise man from the Ivory Coast once said ‘Premier gaou ne gaou, c’est le deuxieme qui niata’. In plain English, don’t make the same mistake twice. I pray that Nigeria don’t fall back into the same trap that they’ve had to make small, awkward movements getting out of.



Currently Listening To: Plans - Bloc Party

Love’s Not A Competition And I’m Still Not Winning

I’ve decided recently that instead of staring out the window blankly whilst I’m on the bus, that I’m going to use this as an inspiration for writing blog posts and texting them as ‘drafts’ on my phone. God, I need a blackberry.

There was a couple of in front of me today, canoodling. My stomach turned as they gazed into each others eyes longingly, whispering to each other and kissing – giggling and blushing like school children. They only stopped when they received hard stares from real school children who were passengers on the bus and unwilling spectators to their public displays of affection – including myself.

Am I jealous of this couple? Well, slightly. Probably. Both professionals. The guy is blue eyed and tall, very lean and donning an Armani suit. The woman tugging the pricy jacket is similarly gorgeous. Long blond hair caresses her shoulders and it shines in the light. Birds of a feather flock together? Indeed. This is one good looking couple. A literal survival of the fittest.

Economists (I recently thought about this topic when I read the Logic of Life) say that it is definitely more likely that we will marry someone who is similar to us. Similar in what way? It seems that race is the answer to this question. What happens if we were to look at the phenomenon with black African American men and women? 43% of Black women in America – never get married. An alarming statistic! These statistics show that culture plays a massive part. More women than men are getting into higher education – particularly black men. So where are all the black men? Prison. A shocking number on are sentenced to eternal holidays at the steel hotel. A shocking number avoid jail but also avoid college or a decent standard of education. If you are a black man in America with a college degree and you manage steer clear of jail. You can have an astonishing amount of bargaining power, (being a bit of a ‘’geek’’ can work in your favour in this case, I guess!), meaning that these profession black men in America choose not to get married. These cycles begin to repeat themselves, and as a result a cultural thing in Black America is to stay unmarried.

What does this mean for me? I’m English for one, so I’m hoping that we won’t follow the Americans into this trap although it looks likely when you look at the crime figures. I could always decide to marry another race, or rely on probability, of which the law of attraction does not always adhere to. All my experience of romance are fuelled my slightly irrational, hormonal teenage brain rather than the rational thinking of an economist.

The couple get off the bus now; Miss Blonde grips his hand as they glide through the hoard of school children refusing to move. As I predicted they get off at the station, running to catch their train. They look like they earn a bit maybe one day their salaries will be nice enough for a white wedding?

Currently Listening To: Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand

Je Viens D'Apprendre La Significance De La Ironie

Sitting at a bus stop, I let my weary head loll against the dirty glass as I contemplate the day that I've left behind me. Cheeky lying year 7s ruining the house elections, a spat - bickering between two old friends, feelings of remorse and self pity. Lack of sleep. Again. I sigh to myself.

Talking to my gracious maths teacher today, he asked whether our generation had ever created anything of recognition. Awkward silence. It was not a comment dripped in sarcasm and coated with arrogance but a simple question worthy of an answer. 'We havent lived yet,' it occured to me, as I rested my eyes, whilst kicking myself for not finding at the time. I had the chance in the holidays. Two actually. A dream come true for the one that I took. I hope that it pays off.

A familiar refrain kicks in. I use my oyster card to tap a rhythm on my lycra covered legs. 'Tonight we can truly say we're invincible?' Sorry not tonight, Matt. I am not. It is my duty, however, to do something of worth with my life even if does not necessarily benefit myself. Interdependence. Dependence. Together, stronger. Sounds like an army speech? I must do better, I must work harder, I must strive for the top. For my mum. The milkman. The baby on the bus sitting across from me; sweet dark brown eyes, soft brown skin, smells of talcum powder. Babies reek of hope, don't they?

Before I even got on the bus, I was confronted by a man and woman - both in suits. I rolled my eyes as she flicked contentedly through the magazine before reaching out to me. 'What can God do for you?' She smiled. I laughed wryly, squinting my eyes in the sun as the bus approached.



Currently Listening To: You Rock My World - Michael Jackson

Lack Of Sleep?

I'm fed up.
Fed up, I tell you.

Life sometimes is so hard and so harsh. Acute lack of sleep is a major setback at the moment, but I'm going to keep ploughing on, and keep myself busy. Not that a lack of things to do is, is a problem. Hmmm.....

As well as organising house music and house elections, my life is being taken up with my personal statement, reading for this personal statement and university choices. Alongside this, I'm worried at the moment. Very worried. I tossed and turned last night and then I burst into tears in my C3 lesson today. In front of the teacher who probably hates me the most. Thankfully, he was particularly gracious about it.

I like to always try and think positive near the end of my blogs, so I will now post the great things about my life, since I last posted:

I went to Downes, in Kent on a year 7 ''Bonding'' trip, about two weeks ago, which resulted in a sleepless but HYSTERICALLY funny overnight stay! Being that age was great, it's a shame that I really didn't appreciate the things that you could get away with saying and doing.

The 'Nothing As Sound As A Brixton Pound' article is going to be featured in the student magazine! I am to inform ''lay people'' about the local economy and the global economy! It's great fun being treated as so knowledgeable, (especially when I am not?!)

I've managed to finish 'The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier' which is a FANTASTIC book. I guess it fed my appetite for something related to the continent of Africa and also development economics considering that once I get a master's degree, I would like to go and work for an NGO. Could also make some very good talking points for my personal statement.

Further Maths is going down a treat! Complex numbers (eg. the square root of -1) has lead to some ''intelligent'' philosophical debates on the abscence of an object. To fuel, my love of maths, I've joined the Cipher Challenge team at school. I will talk about this, possibly, in another post, once it gets under way.

I'm hungry now, so I'm going to end here.



Currently listening to: Undisclosed Desires - Muse

Nothing As Sound As A Brixton Pound

This is only going to be a small post, I think or at least I hope so. But my attention has been drawn to some very interesting news for the local economy. Ok, so it’s not really local but nearby. A 25 minute bus ride, give me that at least?

It seems like Brixton will be getting a boost for its thriving little economy in the way of its own currency.

So why get your own currency? Brixton’s decision seems to be influenced by the success of the Totnes Pound and the Lewes Pound. The Lewes Pound no longer exists as it was only instituted for a short while during the worst of economic downturn but it seems to have worked.

The point of the Brixton pound is to give consumers in the area real value for money. It is hoped that the money will stay within the area instead of falling in to the hands of big chain stores, which spoil the diversity of Brixton’s town centre. Another aim is to create and strengthen loyalty ties and more of a community feel for those who choose to shop independently.

The currency is backed by the Lambeth Savings and Credit Union who provide low interest loans for the local community. They want to push for community banking which is non profit making and in the midst of global credit crisis, surely this is the moral alternative?

I can sit here and probably attempt to decipher some more important reasons behind the decision (maybe add in some juicy political ideas!) but my eyes have been drawn to what the majority of people are much more interested in concerning the Brixton pound. Which famous face should grace each note? My vote lies with Levi Roots. Nothing beats some reggae reggae sauce.

Currently Listening To: Black or White - Michael Jackson

The School Bell Rings

It's that time of year again when WHSmiths try and tell us that we need to buy their 'back-to-school' essentials at extortionate prices, induced by the fact that Woolworths no longer exists to try and defend itself as a useless rival. Alongside this, several supermarkets and M&S also attempt to compete for customers to buy their school uniforms, which however cheap they may be, some of them are hideous. In fact, my school insisted that my uniform was bought from John Lewis. Thank god that I don't wear uniform anymore!

Yes, the bell tolls as the last year EVER of school starts. Apparently, there will be lots of important life-changing decisions to be made. It sounds so ominous to me, almost like the church bells near me ringing out over its creepy graveyard (full of drug-takers, people who are halfway to death rather than buried already). I think I would prefer if they were bells of hope but for those who have failed to plan and henceforth planned to fail - there could be dark times ahead. It is important however to keep the faith and work hard this year, I believe that this 'bell ringing' is similar to the one sounded at the beginning of the final lap of a marathon. Even now we cannot sprint until that final bend. 'Slow and steady wins the race' was something I was taught at the beginning of my school career.

So exciting times ahead for me and about half a million other candidates who will encounter the beauty of UCAS. Lets just hope I escape the experience 'sound as a bell', eh?


Currently Listening To: Fairytale - Alexander Rybak

Lets Get Back To Normal (BPDD)

Yes, thats right folks, I've got a serious dose of BPDD.

Blog Posting Defiency Disorder.

I have missed posting on here for a bit, and for my act of neglect, I apologise. In my defence, I haven't been idly sitting around all day, doing diddly squit.

It's late. In about 8 hours, some lucky people will be getting GCSE results. I was one of them this time last year. Makes you think, doesn't it? My little sister will getting some grades for science, so I probably won't hear the end of it. Anyway I shouldn't take it for granted, good luck to all the GCSE students.

Anyway back to what I've been busy with. Last week, I was interning at Railpen Investments and met my fantastic supervisor, Frank Curtiss. Frank managed to teach me and help me understand (which is a feat in itself!) all he possibly could about his work environment which was absolutely amazing, and as person, I've never met someone more friendly, and personable. We visited all kinds of places, the place I particularly enjoyed was BNY Mellon in Canary Wharf which absolutely great. Of course, the view from the 49th floor was something pretty special! I could harp on about all the jargon I learnt such as equities, class actions, commodities, sub prime mortgages, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. But I'm going to save it all for a super massive 'How I Spent My Week Interning!' post or at least it shall grace my extended essay on the recession.

Interning and Results Day (which was in some way reassuring, irritating as well as alarming!) has spurred me into action. I will be back at school next week, AND I have to do some serious reading and project research. I have solemnly sworn to Frank to devote my eyes to the pages of the Financial Times, so hopefully I will have some meat to chew on in my future posts. I have also agreed to do some blogging on the econatuni.com website! I will writing reviews on the economics books that I (should) have read over the summer.

I was actually rather tired (today I was not amused as I was again stuck looking at and shifting around vases, serviettes and such - my mum is still on her decorating project!). I was writing this post, but now I've put on some Muse, and I'm slightly alert again, which is brilliant! Maybe now would be a good time to finish the Undercover Economist!



Currently Listening to: Black Holes And Revelations - Muse

Ticking Me Off #2

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Time for ANOTHER short but sweet rant.

Vases

I think this is a personal thing for me. I've been dragged aimlessly around party stores, home stores and one very interesting junk shop called 'Aladdin's Cave'. I've now come to hate anything looking remotely homely. For hours, I have stared mindlessly at glass and plastic shapes, and been asked repetitively at which angle does the vase look best in. I DON'T CARE! SERIOUSLY! This has made me question what will happen when I decide to get married and I will need to plan the decor for the wedding.

I'm gonna get me that city job and hire a wedding planner. Ah, that's much better.


Currently Listening To: Pocketbook - Jennifer Hudson, African Warrior - Donae'o

Farmageddon

One of my finest moments this school year was being nominated to run for head girl. I narrowly lost the election but I won a place on the Senior Prefect team, which is a pretty great position to gain, as well as being chosen to be a head of house.

My first duty was and continuing duty is to register one of the Lower School forms. I have been blessed with a wonderful year 7 class, who make me use a lot of energy first thing every Thursday morning. After registering them, I usually play games like 'Heads Down Thumbs Up' and 'Hangman'. Walking to their form room was a cautious task, while it looked like the corridors were clear to me, I had forgotten that year 7's are only about four feet tall and have tendencies to dart out of nowhere and run straight into you, especially in the dinner queue. However this particular morning, there was hysteria in corridors. I walked into the classroom to see a large group of year 7s huddled together. I sat gingerly in the teachers chair, and was soon surrounded by them. They all silently eyed me like the calm before a storm.

'DO YOU HAVE SWINE FLU?' A bold, blonde haired girl asked, before the whole class broke into pandemonium. Some started screaming and crying. That week, Alleyn's School had been closed due to swine flu. Many of the girls had brothers and sisters who had attended Alleyn's and they were worried. But I didn't.
'No,' I answered tentatively. The same question and the same answer went back and forth, again and again. By the third time, I burst out laughing and demanded an explanation from Little Miss Bold Blondie on why I was being given the spanish inquisition. I had been romantically linked via Facebook to one of the 6th form boys at Alleyn's who had recently come back from Mexico. I rolled my eyes. They were worse gossips than the 6th form.

Later on that day, the nurse sent home 40 year 7's with suspected swine flu symptoms. Talk about hyperchondriacs. This was back in April. Two months later, when there was confirmed case in our school, there was chaos. Absolute and utter chaos.

This panic has not left the hearts of the public yet, be it a year 7 pupil, a pregnant mother, or a banker reading his paper on the tube in the morning. Every morning, we must read the paper and be told to confront our fate. The media particularly enjoys bombarding us with the constant reminder that we are all going to die in the midst of this 'Farmageddon': Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Mad Cow Disease (I do realise this was a disease from the 90s). (Actually upon reflection, it makes you wonder how these diseases get these names!).

But some of the statistics are fuelling the frenzy (we do have to be prepared for the worst, in case it all goes pear shaped). I'm particularly talking about the speculated effects on the economy. Swine flu couldn't have come at a more worse time.

The NHS are predicting up to 65,000 deaths this winter and the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Lim Donaldson has added that up to 30% of the population could show symptoms. Currently the UK Death Toll is currently around 30. Someone please enlighten me how this is plausible?

The Oxford economists are slightly more realistic than our health care analysts but it is still alarming. The UK gross domestic product (GDP: a basic figure of the UK's economic performance) could drop by 5%, our economy could head towards deflation (this doesn't sound too bad in theory, it means that the value of money will increase but most economists agree that it could lead to a downward spiral. It is a slippery slope to reduced economic activity). Finally to put the king in the cake, our economy, already in need of a quick bounce back, return to form could be delayed by 2 years. It means that we could have to sit tight for a bit longer riding out an extended recession, trying to battle throught the underlying problems, clutching our tissues and blowing our noses.

Other estimates from the Ernst & Young Item Club, who are working closely with Sir Lim Donaldson are predicting up to a 7.5% decrease in the UK GDP, this is based on 100,000 cases of swine flu and 50% of the UK showing symptoms. Our economy could reach a slump that hasn't been seen since 1921. The Item Club say that, "With the Western world still teetering on the brink of deflation, it is not an exaggeration to say that a pandemic on this scale could tip it over the edge." It COULD happen, however what most of this hype is helpfully revealing, is that there is a real underlying threat to our economy.

Swine flu, more interestingly, will certainly affect our behaviour towards money. There will be heightened uncertainty about economic developments (whole companies could collapse completely due to swine flu) which is likely to make businesses postpone investment. Increased uncertainty would also have a negative impact on financial markets, bringing lower share prices and higher market interest rates than warranted by the economic situation. Spending will take a nose dive, as many people will not go near anywhere which is harbouring swine flu (ie. restaurants, cinemas and retailers.)

However, some retailers are now recording profits such as Next. (I do wonder how Next ever made a profit!) Stockpiling tins of beans and jumpers to serve an army against a nuclear bomb, or just to ride out the swine flu, is certainly appealing for most of the public. Let us not forget, Procter & Gamble, (who sell the essentials; helping us stockpile Pampers, Vicks and toothbrushes) and therefore will always make a profit, and GlaxoSmithKline and other such pharmaceutical companies who produce medicines undoubtedly will have no trouble breaking even. GSK currently have a swine flu vaccine in the pipeline, and were heavily criticised this week for wanting to charge £6 for a vaccine which allegedly costs £1 to produce.

Swine flu has made us all a little paranoid. I'm now afraid to cough, sneeze or breathe too hard in public in case I am mobbed by year 7s or given a hard stare by an old lady. I think they've accepted that it is not the steady sound progress but sound of our economy taking a nose dive into Farmageddon.



Currently Listening to: All Them Witches - Plugs, Fastlove - George Michael

What Are The Odds?

One thing that affected my childhood more than anything and still affects me (I’m still a child, you see) is the divorce of my parents. I don’t think myself or anyone outside the family circle really saw it coming. There were incidents, I guess, where my mum and dad didn’t see eye to eye and lots of them involved gambling.

My dad never had a gambling addiction or anything serious; he saw the occasionally fiver or lottery ticket as some slight amusement that my mum didn’t approve of. I recall one evening, where my dad had come in from work, waving a lottery ticket around, asking for someone to give him a number. Naturally, I ran to him and said 15, and I sat on his knee as he circled the number on the paper. My mum came in at this point, and her jaw dropped. I swiftly ushered out of the room before I heard commotion in the living room. Another time, my dad thought it fit to gamble the mortgage on the manager’s special at our local Ladbrokes. Fortunately for his sake and my mother’s sanity, he won, and quite a substantial amount too.

The point I’m getting at is that, no matter how lucky we think we are when we win the lottery, many of the winners have come out later and said that it has changed their lives for the worse, and labelled the lottery as a ‘curse’.

So I’ve gathered the best of the worst, (what an oxymoron) of the lottery winner stories, inspired by this news story. Enjoy.

‘’Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be," says Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer. ‘’ Everybody wanted my money. Everybody had their hand out. I never learned one simple word in the English language -- 'No.' I wish I had the chance to do it all over again. I'd be much smarter about it now," says Adams, who also lost money at the slot machines in Atlantic City.

Evelyn Adams, who won the $5.4 million dollar New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice in 1985 and again in 1986 gambled most of it away, and is broke today. 1993 Missouri lottery winner Janite Lee won $18 million, but was overly generous by giving the money away to a variety of causes leading to her filing bankruptcy just eight years after her stroke of good fortune hit.

Lucky isn't a lady, it's a downright bitch, don't you think?



Currently Listening to: Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder

Ticking Me Off #1

I've decided that every monday or so often, I'm going to dedicate a whole blog post so I can let off some steam and have a rant about stuff that is REALLY ticking me off this week.

So what's really not doing it for me this week?

Jokes About Michael Jackson

It's pretty much become common knowledge that Michael Jackson is dead, and you'd have to have been living under a rock to not know this fact. However, even the same night that MJ died, my facebook almost crashed under the sudden influx of people writing condolence messages in their statuses and for the more adventrous, jokes. Jokes which I think are in poor taste. 'His heart just couldn't beat it' and other various puns. I don't think everyone has to be a fan of MJ, but even if you're not, HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE DEAD, for gods sake! That was almost a month ago. There are some very silly people out there who won't cease with this immature and unneeded and warped sense of humour. The man is dead. Let the dead be laid to rest. The jokes weren't that funny in the first place. Stop the MJ jokes.

Leggings as A Substitute for Trousers/Jeans

I love my clothes. It's summer. I love summer clothes. You get the gist. On Saturday morning, I was waiting for a bus, when my eyes were greeted with a girl who was wearing really cool leopard print leggings. She was really working them. My eyes followed her as she walked past me seated at the bus stop and up to the station. A white van stopped, and a leery man beeped his horn and shouted at her. In a split second, I realised the reason why. HER LEGGINGS WERE SEE-THROUGH. EVERYONE could see her thong. I sighed to myself. When will we learn? Some fashions need to be worn correctly! Walking around town, I encountered several other people making this fashion faux pas. It doesn't matter how hot you are, just because you can, doesn't mean you have to. I mean, sheesh!

Swine Flu

I'm not going to rant too much about this, as I'm saving this for another blog post. But I'm sick of the media hype. 'We're all going to die' and other such armageddon like statements. In a post in this distant future, I will discuss the effects of swine flu on our economy but for now I'm going to finish getting gobby.

Don't be dismayed, it's not all bad news, I'm enjoying England's victory over Australia at Lords and the sun is shining. I'm now off to celebrate finishing this post by enjoying a magnum, courtesy of a brilliant 'Buy One Get One Free' deal at Tesco!

Currently Listening to: Get Low - Lil Jon

My First Blog

Dear Reader,

Two days ago, I celebrated my 17th birthday, (yes ladies and gentleman, I'm legally allowed behind the wheel of a car, so BEWARE!) and in honour of gracing and blessing this earth with my presence for 17 years and enjoying my last year as a teenager, I have decided to start this blog. Its use, so I can capture EVERY single moment (good or bad) of this new year. Fortunately, you are the lucky spectator to this!

I will be talking about anything that makes me tick or articles and popular/weird/wonderful/(*delete as appropriate) stories from the news. If it makes me sigh, then... (I'll have to find a rhyme for that! Hmmm...) Anyway happy reading and please come back and visit my blog.

Peace!




Currently Listening to: Body Groove - Architects